If you visit quite a few bike shows like I do, you noticed that the number of participants competing in the Bagger Class is getting bigger and bigger. To the point that in some of them the number of ultra customized baggers is larger than the number of Bobbers… After more than 20 years where custom motorcycle builders have exhausted themselves doing almost all possible modifications to embellish and improve a stock Softail Harley-davidson, the subject of all attentions is now the Harley Touring bike. Of course, it helps that Baggers are so popular with the growing motorcyclist segment of Baby Boomers, that they are bought at the dealership by those having a little bit or much more money to spend than the average biker.

Logically, these TINMK’s (Two Income No More Kids) want to personalize their long distance rides. It’s what they did before on their solo bikes and the customization fever doesn’t not necessarily disappear because you get older…Logically, they are very receptive to what a good custom builder can bring to their plush rides… Any talented young and more mature custom builder has what it takes to customize any motorcycle. And they prove it with releasing gorgeous full blown custom touring bikes made to ride…and at the same time winning the most important bike shows.

Perfect example is this 2010 Harley Road Glide rebuilt and customized by Tom Keller, owner of Florida shop Thug Cycles, and winner of all bike shows where it was ridden, the latest being 1st Place Bagger Class and Best Of Show at the Daytona Biketoberfest Rat’s Hole Show. Not a small accomplishment when facing high end radical bikes and ultra creative custom Choppers and Bobbers.

Tom Keller started tinkering with custom bikes in 1992 and after working for some well known builders around the State Of Florida started his shop in 2003. Since then he has worked on a vast range of motorcycles of very different styles, both American & Metric, a good diversified apprentice to handle the art of customizing a Bagger.

Named “Thug Glide” the brand new heavily modified Harley has kept it’s stock rubber frame but massaged to add some back bone stretch and extra neck rake. Extra power comes from the Harley/Thug 106″ Special Thug Formula where HD cases are kept but fitted with S&S Cylinders and S&S pistons for a compression ratio declared at more than 10.5:1. Air cleaner is Thug Cycles Crown Logo.

Great ride never such a cool bagger in Europe- having Met Brian at Klockworks in Biketoberfest we should be sampling the bagger market at last having owned one for years will be customising my Sputhe glide- style functionality- cant beat it- Mike

JOHNNY….
LETS SEE WHAT YOUR BRINGING TO THE PLATE??? NOTHING RUBBED CUSTOMER IS HAPPY
AND THE THUG GLIDE IS HOT!! SO IM SURE AS ALWAYS THEIRS SOMEONE THAT LIKE TO TALK
CRAP!!! IT COMES WITH THE TERRITORY !!!! SO DONT BE A HATER (JOHNNY) BE CREATOR !!!

JOHNNY …
I SAW YOUR WEBSITE … YOU NEED SOME HELP!!! WE MADE OUR HANDLE BARS , THEY BOUGHT TODD CYCLES BARS!! WE HAVE AIR RIDE FRONT AND BACK!! THEY HAD NOTHING! AS FOR A 26 WHEEL ?? WHO CARES!! WE CUT AND MADE EVERYTHING IN YOU SEE ON IT!! AND AS YOU SPEAK IT LESSONS YOU AND YOUR SHOP!! AND WE KNOW NO ONE AT RATTS HOLE… SO FOR YOU TO SAY SUCH A THING REALLY MAKES YOU A HATER!! AND IM GOOD WITH THAT !! MANY OF OUR BIKES ARE IN ALL THE TOP MAGS!! AND THATS. NOT LUCK… THATS SKILL… SO BUILD YOUR BEST BIKE YOU EVER MADE AND I’LL BRING ONE OF MY OLD ONES AND YOU’LL STILL GET BEAT!! EASY.. PUT UP OR SHUT UP!!! SEE YOU AT THE NEXT SHOW….

Johnny what ignition switch rubbing? Not ours! And if you’re insinuating we sponsored the trophies so that’s how we won UR WRONG buddy, get ur facts straight before you talk crap! We didn’t sponsor anything, we won with what we brought to the table HATER!!! Nobody is doubting that Trotta builds nice stuff, why didn’t he enter his bike? Cuz he knew it didn’t hold a candle to THUG’s! True craftmanship? Why were his boys at THUG asking how we did ours & what we did for it NOT TO RUB!!! Just because he was building bikes before Tom was born don’t mean shit! Who won 8 awards including #1 in Pro Builder & Best of Show in Key West just in September once again TOM for his bad a** creations!

Black Dog. DINK’s is a name invented by marketing & advertising executives on Madison Avenue to describe young couple postponing the creation of a family (children) to pursue their respective careers. In my post I am talking about the older couples (baby boomers) whose children are raised, no more living at home. They are empty nesters but not DINK’s (they don’t necessary have double income)

Thug, nice bike! That class was really small this year but then again so was the show. Congrats on the win! Johnny did you have a bike in the show? I do have a question for the bagger class, why aren’t the frames painted? just wondering.

tom you must be high if you think you are in the same class as eddie and his crew maybe your just hating cus you where his parts guy and not part of his build team ……good luck tom im sure or paths will cross………..till then hugs not thugs

Tom, what are you feeding in to this Dood’s Shit talk. He is just trying to Torture you. He is doing a pretty damm good Job! He obviously knows you and knows you use to Work for Eddie as well. Nice, Nice Job and congradulations on the Bike and the First PlaceTag! Truthfully, I never thought you ever Worked on a Bike with a Suspension of any kind! Congrads!

Damn, I think JOHNNY is really an old worn out, washed up bike biker from Ft. Lauderdale. Hmmmmmm, won’t name any names…
And I saw that bagger with the 26″ front tire up close and it was just that A plain ass bagger with a 26″ tire. I saw a 1976 ford pinto with 26″ tires riding down the street that looked better. Everything was store bought out of a catalog. And that can from a supposed top bike builder!!! Yeah, great work! NOT!!
Thug-Glide is bad ass…

I beg to differ with Black Dog and Cyrill as well! “D I N K” is a term that has been around and I know I have used it for at least 15 Years. I originally heard it in the Context as follows…. Why do the Gay”s live so well? Answer Because they are DINKS. Double Income No Kids. That’s how I heard it, I don’t know where the advertising Company is the Inventer, Cyrill.

OK, I will show my age here ….. the only time I have ever heard the word “dink” used in a sentence was during a “Visit” I was forced to make, many years ago, to a God Forsaken little jungle country located in Southeast Asia.

Hey Thug, you did have a good looking bike out there in Florida, but to be honest with you there were a handfull of baggers out there that outclassed the “thug glide”. I can always appreciate great work, but keep the shit talking to a minimum…get off your home turf and and come to some bigger shows and compete with the big boys, winning at a “home turf show isn’t something to brag about especially as small as that show was!!! I’m not hating just stating the facts for ya!!!

wow, I get so tired of seeing builders and their attitudes. I spent more time looking at the back and forth bickering, getting turned off by the attitudes than enjoying the bike. I only ride rigid bikes but if I were my dad, I’d be interested in one of these…until I saw the attitude! From my experience (32 years of it), a person who treats their competition with such disrespect this way treats their customers the same way.

Nice bike. I was at the Rats hole bike show. It seemed like there was very few bikes at the october show compared to the March Rats hole. Still not easy to win at either one. Great job. Who did the paint work? They did a great job really makes the bike flow. Congradulations on your win.

i dyno tuned the bike..tom left that off the spec. sheet, it makes great power, i know the owner, and it gets ridden, i rode it myself, it tracks straight rides nice with the air system on the bike, turns easy no flop…to each his own, its a nice bike if you like those bikes. if its not your style..shut up, if you like it give props. but the bickering on both sides, just shows how independent and fiercely competetive most bike people are..when in doubt knock em out!

And yes mike the owner dyno the Bagger and I must say mike at a1 cycles is by far the best dyno tuner in fla… And as far as bolt on parts??? Tell me what can be hand made on a Bagger? Those are new FATTIES apes that we make in house.. Thx Mike for your words 🙂

RUB…… its not me, its a team job… im proud of my people who bust their ass for me and my shop..
I really dont see anything wrong with that…if you dont like it .. move on!! no reason to hate.. be happy =)

I’m not interested in the pollictics ” BUT” The way the Rats Hole web site and the way the show was run is not at the level it should be. The web site has no posting of who won what, and needless to say there’s no pictures of the winners. The economy has nothing to do with posting any of this info. Score: F-

I dont bad mouth anyones work and I truely think Thug had a beautiful bike, I’m sure lots of time went into the “Paint” But Best of Show ????
Other builders that where there built theirs from the scratch with lots of man hours, I remember when the Rats Hole was a show for the builders to show hand built bikes… not bolt on average get lost in the crowd stuff.

EAST? WHATS YOUR NAME? SLAM ME ON HERE AND HIDE BEHIND YOUR KEYBOARD..GOT ONE WORD FOR YOU PUSSY! JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER KEYBOARD COMMANDO. CALL THE SHOP SEEING AS YOUR SO FAMILIAR WITH IT..OR MAYBE I WILL ASK CYRIL FOR YOUR REAL NAME AND EMAIL..TRACK YOU DOWN THAT WAY! see ya